Methods For Creating Slides For Magic Lanterns?

Magic lantern slides are a popular form of entertainment and storytelling that originated in the late 19th century. They come in various shapes and sizes and were used to promote the railroad and the potential of the newly opened Canadian railway. They were created on glass and viewed with the aid of a “magic lantern”, the predecessor of the slide projector. To digitize these slides, one can acquire a flatbed scanner with a transparency lid.

Langtern slides are positive transparent photographs made on glass and viewed with the aid of a “magic lantern”, the predecessor of the slide projector. Lantern slide plates were used to create these slides. Two sheets of lithographic transfers are available for making magic lantern slides, one for 8 x 8 cm and the other for 8 x 8 cm.

Kids and homeschoolers can make their own magic lantern and slides by following simple instructions. They can shoot them on slide film with a 3×4″ camera or larger, crop them to size, and mount them between glass. A very elementary form of magic lantern might be made from an old tin cracker-box, with a cheap wall-back lamp and a simple lens, and a slide.

After the image has been exposed to the plate, the slide was developed in chemical baths in a similar way to regular slides.